All That You Can't Get Over
by LilyLily
Summary: Takes place where the manga ends. After 2 years, Hiyono shows up at Ayumu's hospital ward. And so another Spiral begins! Rated M for future AyuXHiyo loving scenes. All other pairings supported. Many spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

_This picks up right where the manga ends, which is 2 years later from the start of the series. Many Spoilers! Be careful! M Rating for future Ayumu X Hiyono loving scenes._

Thanks and enjoy! LILY10484

**SPIRAL Suiri no Kizuna **

**All That You Can't Get Over**

Chapter 1

The piano tune ended sweetly and was followed by calm. Narumi Ayumu looked up from his fingers on the keys to the young woman at his bedside. She wore a green summer dress and a white jacket, her long hair following over her shoulders and not in pigtails as when they first met. Her hands were folded over her chest and her eyes closed, as though the melody had continued playing and she was savoring every moment.

"Oi-" His voice trailed off. He didn't know what to call her, since he found out that _HiyonoYuizaki_ wasn't even her real name. "You…"

Her brown eyes flickered open. "Hiyono is fine. I've always wanted you to call me that. Not 'that person' or 'Hey you!' - just Hiyono."

"Ok... Hiyono… What did you think?"

"It was beautiful, Narumi-san. I'm glad you played for me, after so long."

Her smile was genuine, and she looked happy. Still, he deflected it and tried to keep cool. Despite being confined in a hospital for the past 3 months, he'd at least stayed cool and kept a strong mind. He wasn't going to let this girl ruffle him that easily.

"Honestly then, I could've played you anything and still get the same result." he sighed, running a hand through his spiky brown hair. He stopped to watch her move the table away off to the side. She had his curiosity. "…What are you doing?"

"Earlier you accepted my proposal – 'To listen to Narumi-san play the piano, at whatever cost.'" she said sitting on the edge of his bed, "Ne, Narumi-san, what would you like me to do?"

She was up close now and he could examine her in detail. He could even smell what kind of shampoo she used - which he was sure was _Asience_, because Madoka-neesan had gone through a stage of using that shampoo brand for half a year. Ever since he found out the truth of her, and since she had changed her pigtail hairstyle, he'd realized that he was attracted to her. Since that time they parted, he'd been aching to see her again.

"I'll think about it," His gaze concentrated downward, still on the hands that had stopped moving and were folded on her lap. "Are you still working?"

"Yes! I'm still with the same company as before."

"Right," he mumbled remembering how it was this job of hers and her secretive life that had kept them apart for the last two years. Thinking about it made him feel a bit bitter. "Aren't you going to tell what exactly is it you do?"

"You know I can't do that. I'd have to kill you if I did. It's a big secret remember!" she said with a sigh. Even as she said it, he could tell she actually did want to tell him.

_She'd want me to beg her to tell me. That would make her day now wouldn't it?_

"Narumi-san?" she called, when she noticed the change of expression in his face.

He blinked and shook his head. "Ah, it's nothing… So, just how long are you staying in Japan?"

"I'll stay as long as I can. I just finished a large project in Germany, but I'm still very busy. To tell the truth I'm always busy, but my boss said I could take some time off for a while."

His eyes scrunched with doubt. _Whatever this girl's doing is dangerous, especially if it had involved my brother at some point. Will she be taking off again, without coming back?_

"Narumi-san?"

_The disease in me is progressing. Already I can't use my right hand, and I could barely walk. It's only a matter of time before I end up like Mizuhiro. Will I die, without ever telling her my feelings?_

"Narumi-san,"

Finally her voice woke him from his thoughts. He turned to see her concerned face. "Wha-?" he started to say, but as he opened his mouth she caught it with her own. _Ah…_

Her hands were on his face, but he couldn't even lift his. He just melted in her hold, tasted her, and wished it would never end.

A full minute after they separated, they sat in the room, foreheads touching and eyes concentrating on each other. And that was when the famous Narumi Ayumu lost his composure.

"You…Wha… why'd you… that…?"

"That's my own thanks for playing the song you composed. I'm just glad you took up music again. Please let me know what you want me to do later." she said softly, her breath still mingling with his. "But I'm afraid I cannot stay long today."

"…Where are you going?"

"Well I have to meet with a real estate agent; you know I have to stay somewhere. I was thinking about a place near the hospital. That way if something was to happen, I'd be within an earshot…" her voice trailed off for a moment as she caught his eye. "By chance were you worried that I might not come back or something?"

"Of course not." was his answer, and he lifted his left hand to shoo her out the door.

She smiled; he was back to normal. "You needn't worry. Even though I'm so busy, I'll come visit you. For as long as you like, Narumi-san."

He watched her walk out the door, and as soon as he heard it close with a click, he buried his head into his pillow with his heart pounding wildly. He looked to his bedside table at his silver hoop earring that she had returned. Without fail, she had returned it to him after 2 years. With it, she'd awakened something inside of him that he could hardly comprehend.

_In the middle of summer came my first kiss… a sweet first kiss… _

_It came so unexpectedly…like this girl named Hiyono…_

_And eventually, disappeared into thin air…_

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

Eventually the other characters will make their appearance. For now, it's mostly just Ayu and Hiyo. Watch out, a bit of sex in this one.  
Enjoy! Lily10484

**SPIRAL Suiri no Kizuna**

**All That You Can't Get Over**

**Chapter 2**

_And she did as she said would. The next day she came, and the day after that and the day that… It was routine. Everyday, that girl greeted me with a loud voice that could've been heard in the next ward over. _

"Narumi-san!"

"Uwah!" Ayumu dropped the book he was reading and looked over at the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't act so surprised! I _told_ you I was coming at this time – _exactly this time_! Narumi-san is always so dramatic!"

"Because you're so noisy," he sighed, dodging a brigade of Hiyo-puppet punches. "Oi, knock it off and calm down already."

_Surprisingly, I didn't feel annoyed or tired to see her; though I had acted that way in the past. At first she was always getting in the way, and seemed a bit suspicious – even scary – being the "Rumors Girl" that knew everything about a person. But being with her, I found myself being able to laugh and relax…somehow I found the strength inside me to face my brother and my fears… Without her I don't know if I could've done it… _

That evening, the two of them were drinking tea, strangely having run out of things to talk about. Even still he enjoyed the silence and started watching her smooth out the wrinkles in her blue skirt. After a while she noticed and giggled at him, causing him to blush and drink his tea ever so vigorously.

During all this Hiyono remembered something. "Oh that's right, I met with Oniisan and Oneesan yesterday..."

"Did you? So, how was the happy couple?"

She ignored his sarcastic tone and continued talking about them, "They seemed all right; nothing too exciting went on. It started raining so they drove me home…"

"Yeah, whatever." he sighed, clearly wanting to change the subject. "Let's watch TV." He picked up the remote and turned it on. She got up to turn her chair around, but he caught her hand. "Come up here."

"Eh? W-What for, Narumi-san!"

He just released her and folded his arms behind his head. "Nevermind. Suit yourself."

But she did climb up and lie down next to him, and they watched the evening news together. After the news, Ayumu started channel surfing. "Oh, this looks good." he said, stopping at an old black and white samurai movie.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly," she replied, looking down at their stretched out legs. She reached over and covered his hand with hers. He tried not to flinch, but the motion escaped him. He looked down at their hands, then back up to her curious face.

"What is it?"

"Do Oneesan and Oniisan watch TV together like this?"

"Nah, Aniki doesn't really like TV and Neesan's usually hogging it to play video games and stuff. The two of them often do their own thing after a while."

"I see… how does it feel like living with them for the past 2 years? I mean, with your feelings toward your brother… and towards Madoka-oneesan?"

Ayumu sat up and gave her a stern look. _Of course the Rumors Girl would know that Madoka-san was my first love. She told me when we first met that she even knew that I called out her name in my sleep. Madoka-san was the first to recognize me without comparing me to my brother. She showed me kindness that no one ever had. But… even though those days are finished and I've gotten over her, it's still painful to talk about… _

"Narumi-san," Hiyono looked really remorseful. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pried… I went too far…" He watched her apologize for a moment before pinching her face. "Itai desu yo!"

"Baka. Don't worry about it." He went back to lying down and relaxed next to her. It was so easy to, breathing in the scent of her hair and feeling her close. They were silent and watched TV for a bit before he started talking again.

"I didn't like it… But I didn't dislike it either. There were just too many memories in the room, painful and unhappy memories. Though they were a married couple, at times they seemed like strangers, a bit distant with each other. I think it's because Neesan still hasn't completely forgiven Aniki."

Hiyono crossed her arms and pouted at the ceiling. "Well! I certainly haven't forgiven him either. I hate that guy! I worked for him, only to find out he was using me as bait. And then he was using you as his 'Test Body'. Not to mention he made Oneesan sad… Yes, I hate him!"

When she had finished fuming, she noticed that he was watching her carefully. "Eh? What is it, Narumi-san?"

"I just realized something. You know so much about me, about everyone for that matter…"

"Yes, it's my job. Well, more like my hobby actually. But you knew that already."

"That's true, but besides that detail I don't think I know anything about you." he said leaning over. "Like I don't know about your past, where you were born, not even your real age…"

"That's because…!" she blurted out, as he was moving closer to her, "Narumi-san, I'm sorry. I think its best you don't know much about me. Not because I don't want to tell you, but because it's for your own safety…"

"Don't give me that. I've shared with you everything, even knowing the dangers and consequences. It's unfair to have secrets when you know all of mine."

"Narumi-san, I can't. Please understand…"

And somehow Ayumu thought of the one person who was responsible for most of his troubles. "Aniki…" he uttered, completely getting absorbed in the theory that had entered his mind, "Aniki knows more about you that I do, doesn't he? Working so close for many years, he had to have found out something! Did the two of you ever...?"

"No!" was her immediate answer, "He doesn't! We never!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him, "Narumi-san, don't say such things!"

Ayumu shook all over. It had been a long time since he had felt such anger and jealously towards his older brother. But slowly, in her arms, these hateful feelings started to leave him. "I'm sorry," he said lifting his left arm to wrap around her, "I'm sorry, Hiyono…"

"Narumi-san…" she sniffled into his black shirt, "Don't be angry. I did work together with your brother, but that was it. For a long time I was following his orders. But at the end, I couldn't go on. Even when I was threatened to be killed, I couldn't… it was because I couldn't betray you… my feelings for you are stronger than anything. Please believe me."

"Baka, baka," he kept saying, kissing the top of her head several times and stroking her hair, "Don't go risking your life for me anymore. I don't like it."

After a while, she loosened their embrace and lifted her face to his. "Narumi-san, I'm 20 years old."

" I see," he said and leaned over to kiss her. But at the last minute pressed his cheek against hers and whispered. "Obasan,"

"WHAT! I'm only 2 years older than you!" she exclaimed, the mood completely being ruined. He could only laugh at her. "I chose to share some information and this is the thanks I get! Mou!" She pushed him away and jumped off the bed, grabbing her things. "I'm going home!"

"See you tomorrow," he said in between chuckles as the door slammed closed.

The next day, Ayumu sat up in bed, working on his music. Actually he was watching the clock and waiting for the door to open. When he heard the click, he yelled out, "Obasan, I knew you'd be back!"

"AYUMU!" Madoka exclaimed, with his brother behind her carrying a vase, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING OBASAN, BAKA!"

Ayumu's face drained of color. "Oh hi Neesan… i-it's a quarter to 10, so I just assumed…" His sister-in-law ignored his attempt to explain and bashed him on the head with her briefcase. "ITE YO!"

Kiyotaka was watching, looking very amused. "So, your girlfriend isn't here yet. Did you two have a fight or something last night?"

"Aniki. She's not my—"

"Don't deny it, little brother." he chuckled, rubbing Ayumu's head and ruffling up his hair. "Ah you are so cute sometimes." He paused to duck Madoka's flying briefcase. "Okay, okay, I won't tease the boy anymore." he sighed, hands up as he plopped into a chair. "Just don't want him to get too comfortable. Love is a very confusing and painful experience…"

"Ayumu, just ignore your brother; he's grumpy because he hasn't gotten any calls this morning." she said, sitting down as well. "That girl has been coming every day for a month now. I think that's proof that you're more to her than just a sick friend."

"Whatever." Ayumu replied crossing his arms. "She doesn't tell me anything. Even when she knows I'm worried about her…"

"You worry about her! That's so sweet!"

"I've had enough with this. I'm going to take a bath." He grabbed the cane next to his bed and limped to the bathroom.

After waiting for the door close, Kiyotaka let out a deep sigh. "Watching Ayumu deal with this romance is depressing. All it does is feel envy for young people and remind me just how dry our sex life is…"Madoka squinted her eyes at him, "And who's fault is that?"

"Hey, it's not completely my fault. Look, I was thinking… maybe we should take a little holiday, just the two of us."

She wasn't moved by his idea and looked at him as though he was quite crazy. "What are you saying? We can't just leave Ayumu. He's your brother and he's in the hospital. Besides, we both have so much work to do. And-"

He cut her off, gently cupping her face in his hands. "And by the end of the day we're so tired and irritated to do anything. Let's just take a break, a single day where we can spend time together just us. What do you say?"

"Kiyotaka-san..."

About fifteen minutes later, Ayumu came out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel. He saw his brother sitting by the window looking a bit down in the dumps. "Oi, where's Neesan? Did you two fight again?"

"Nope." Kiyotaka replied, leaning back in his chair, "She got a page from the station. So she took the car and went off to work."

"Oh… Say, don't you have someplace to go?"

"I see. You want me gone so you can spend time alone with the girlfriend when she gets here." Before there was any argument, Kiyotaka picked up his coat and went for the door. "Okay, I'm out of here. Behave yourself, Ayumu."

"Aniki!" he suddenly called. His brother turned around. "Aniki," Ayumu said a bit quieter, "About Hiyono…"

"I told you before. There's no such thing as Yuizaki Hiyono. Don't believe that girl. She herself is only a lie." And without another word, Narumi Kiyotaka left, closing the door behind him with a quiet little slam.

Ayumu stared at the door, the hard look in his eye slowly leaving. _I don't care what that guy says. He always pisses me off anyways._

The hours passed. He sat up in bed, again working on his music, but only to find himself earnestly watching the clock.

_She's later than usual. Did something happen? _

Around 6:30, she finally arrived. She was tired and soaked from the rain outside. "Hey, where've you been?" he asked as she hung her dripping trench coat on the hook of the door. He took a brief glance at her before turning back to his sheets of music. "You're late 6 hours from when you said you'd be here.."

"I'm sorry, I got held back." she replied sounding cheerful, her appearance saying otherwise. She took his towel and started to dry her hair. "Were you waiting? I meant to call you, but-"

"Leave your cell number so next time I could get in touch with you." he said sharply in a way that surprised her, though his eyes still on the music sheets in front of him.

"Got it" she sighed falling into the chair next to his bedside. There was a long pause following. He continued writing, while she stared out the window. Finally she spoke. "Actually I had a call from my boss. I have to take care of something starting from tomorrow."

Ayumu dropped his pen and finally looked at her. "Tomorrow!" he exclaimed, "Will you come back!"

She saw at his pale face, but made no real reaction. She remained calm and went to pick up his pen that had rolled onto the table. "Of course, I'll come back sometime soon. Narumi-san is being silly."

_Here she was acting as though it was nothing. But it meant everything. I was dying, and I had accepted it. It was only when she appeared all of that changed. I needed her and she knew this. Yet she was taking herself far away from me, like some kind of a sick joke. _

"Narumi-san…" Hiyono held out the pen to him, but he just knocked it away.

_And then somehow, I just lost it._

"Soon? Soon, you say!" he shouted, "How so, like in a day, a week, a year? Baka! What are you thinking? Why don't you just quit that stupid job of yours!"

"I would if I could, but I can't. You don't understand. It's not as easy as you think."

"What happened to _believing in one's own power_? That _anything is possible if you try?_ Didn't you say those words, Baka…!" He stopped yelling suddenly. There were tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Hiyono closed her eyes, trying to control her tears but she couldn't stop them from falling. "What use am I to Narumi-san if I can't be strong? Forgive me…"

Wiping her eyes once more with the back of her hand, she stood and turned for the door. _What am I doing…_ Ayumu wondered as he reached out, grabbed her arms and pulled her back to him. Falling into his arms, face to face again, she looked surprised at first, but soon she relaxed in his hold, leaning against him until her tears had subsided.

They remained that way for a long time. His eyes hid in his dark brown hair, searching for voice words he longed to say. "It's all right. I'm the one who's sorry… Hiyono… Don't go… stay with me …" he almost whispered as he reached to kiss her.

This time she wasn't the least bit surprised as with his sudden embrace, and met him midway, her mouth slightly open to invite him in. He slid his left hand around her waist her and pulled her up onto his lap, while her arms circled his neck.

_There was no use denying I wanted her.  
_

"Anou, eto!" she stammered as he started to undo the buttons of her dress. "Narumi-sa—"

He hushed with his fingertips on her lips. "Don't you think it's about time to drop the formalities?"

"Ayumu…" she said softly as he removed the last bit of her clothing and hovered over her shaking with excitement. "Wait. Let me do it."

She unbuttoned his white shirt and examined his abdomen for a while, before she fumbled off his pants. Suddenly her eyes went wide. "You okay?" he asked, feeling concerned. Though she tried not to show it, he could tell from her trembling that she wasn't used to doing things like this. "Hey," he said, moving to stroke his cheek, "We don't have…"

"No, I want to. _Really_."

He pulled her to him again. The two of them slid down to the bed, kissing and touching each other for a while. When she was ready, she positioned herself on top of him. Slowly he entered.

_It was my first time…for a second I wondered if it was hers, but it didn't matter… The past was gone… From here now, it was going to be just the two of us… _

With every movement, he said her name. Gripping her back with his left hand, it was like he had melted inside her, like they had become one. He didn't have the strength to keep up with her and could only watch as she rode him. In her eyes were sheer concentration and he couldn't look away.

"Hiyono, Hiyono…!" his calls were getting more and more frantic as the urge to explode piled up inside.

She grasped his right hand that was useless and rested it against her chest. He exhaled to the rhythm of her rapidly heartbeat. "Its okay, Ayumu, I'm here."

And then, his body shook with release. She smiled and collapsed on top of him. Just as he was fading away, he could hear her gently whisper in his ear.

"Ayumu, I love you. Please believe…"

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

Finally getting the story on the move! Please enjoy! Lily10484

**Spiral Suiri no Kizuna**

**All That You Can't Get Over**

**Chapter 3**

Kiyotaka could feel the sun creeping into the room. It made him feel hot and sweat profusely. His eyes squinting through the sunlight, he looked to his right to see his wife with her back to him. She was wearing an old gray cotton tee shirt that was anything but sexy. He watched that sleeping form for what seemed like an eternity.

_Things were going well for us. I came home after 2 years, yes, but Madoka had accepted me back and we did our best to make our marriage work. Slowly, I thought the wounds had started to heal, that she was going to forgive me. And maybe I could start to forgive myself._

A few strands of long black hair had fallen over her face, the silky touch tickling her nose. With every sniffle, he felt the urge to reach out and move the strands away.

_Half a year ago, she started to act distant and then irritated with me. And I didn't know what I did. Even when I asked her, she wouldn't tell me. And that's when I realized, the woman who fell madly in love with me back when we were rookie detectives at the police force -, that very same woman who vowed to spend the rest of her life with me - had finally stopped loving me._

"Mm…" Madoka had started to stir and he retracted his hand back into blanket. He knew he'd better keep things as they were since it looked like a beautiful day outside and he didn't want to ruin it at the start. "…What time is it?" she said, yawning, "I can't see…"

_Believe it or not, this beauty was almost blind. When I first met her she was wearing some thick pair of glasses. Nowadays you'd only ever see her with contact lenses. I guess there'd be no way I would've noticed her with those big old frames on. I guess in that respect I had been lucky…_

"It's just after seven."

"Oh God, really!" she cried, sitting up immediately, "I-I have to get to work! We're having an important briefing… why didn't I hear the alarm?"

He watched as she ran across the room, stripping as she approached the bathroom. It was a scene he was used to watching. Slightly turned on, but too tired to do anything about it, he emerged from the sheets. "I'll make us some breakfast."

_Coffee, two omelets, and a pile of pancakes…No surprises… just the way you like it._

In the dim hospital ward, Ayumu woke with a start. He had suddenly felt cold, like somehow a draft was let in. At first he thought maybe the hospital staff had turned on the air-conditioner, or the heating system had been broken. Then, he recognized the scent of fresh air – how the outside world smelled. He'd been in this hospital ward so long he'd almost forgotten about that world.

"I should close that window…"

Yet as he moved to sit up he found himself unable to do so. On his chest rested Hiyono's head, her long brown hair spread over them like a blanket. He pulled the sheets up to cover her bare shoulders, but then she started to stir.

"Mm… it's cold…" she mumbled, eyes still closed

"Yeah, I know," he said, his hand still on her shoulder, "I think a window is open. I'll go check."

"No," she replied in a rather stern voice. "You should know a girl needs her beauty sleep and you shouldn't disturb her at any cost, Narumi-san…"

He sighed to himself. _Again we're back to the formalities? Did we not go over this last night?_ _And what's this about Sleeping Beauty? Hardly_!

"Oi, there's no way we can stay like this. The room is getting cold. Oi, wake up!"

She jumped up and yelled at him, "Mou! Didn't last night mean anything to you?"

He didn't reply, though his eye twitched slightly. _Of course it did. You know it did. You just want me to get embarrassed. Baka._

"Well, Narumi-san?" she asked, sounding impatient. "What you thinking? Why don't you just say it out loud?"

He could only answer by pulling her to him and kissing her. In response she wrapped her arms around his neck and fell back onto the bed bringing him with her. Being on top he pinned her down and smiled against her lips. "Did you think you could actually beat me?"

"What are you saying, Narumi-san? I've already won."

He let out a laugh. "Whatever. You're dreaming." His laugh brought a change in her expression; it was sparkling but almost sad. "Ah, what is it?"

"Narumi-san, the truth is that I…" But she didn't finish her sentence, because something had caught her eye and she suddenly screamed.

"Hiyono!" he asked, staring at her pale face. He turned to see his brother standing by the open window, holding a rather large bento box.

"Rise and shine!"

"ANIKI!" he cried, shielding Hiyono's naked body from his brother's view, "What the hell are you doing here!"

Kiyotaka seemed unfazed by his angry little brother's shouting, and simply shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, Madoka asked me to bring breakfast for you. She had to take the car so she dropped me off here. And here I am."

"GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"

"Okay, okay…" he sighed, doing a U-turn out the door, but not without sending a smirk to the red-faced girl peering out from under Ayumu's arm. "I'll take a walk to the vending machines while you handle _this_."

Once the door had closed, Ayumu checked on the girl in his arms. "You all right? Hiyono?"

But by the looks of it, she wasn't all right at all. She was gripping at the sheets and cringing in anger, tears in the corners of her eyes. "I…I really hate that person!"

"Yeah," he laughed, "Yes, I know."

"Maybe you should've killed him after all, Narumi-san." she snapped while dressing herself in an angry manner – pulling on her clothes as though she might rip them apart.

"Perhaps I should've, but remember why I didn't?" was his idle response. He lifted his hand and pointed at her forehead. "It was because _you_ would've been sad."

"Baka," she sighed, having buttoned her last button. She clasped his hand into hers. "Even if you became a cold-hearted killer and ended this world, I would've followed you."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'd be a completely different person if I started killing people. There's no way you would've felt the same way about me—"

She winked at him. "I guess we're lucky to never have found out."

There was a long pause. Ayumu noticed that the same expression she wore before had returned, and whatever she had to tell him was serious. "What is it that you need to say? Hurry up and say it..."

"Ah, yes… It's just that…well…" She paused and laughed at herself for a moment, and then she smiled brightly and said in confident voice, "I love you, Narumi-san."

Ayumu couldn't control the shade of pink that entered his cheeks. _Baka! Why am I getting so embarrassed? I'd known this for a long time that this was how she felt; of course it was so obvious for everyone to see. So, why…?_

"Narumi-san?" she asked, looking concerned as he turned away from her to hide his blushing face, "Please say something. Are you happy or…?"

"I'm…" he said, trying to regain control of his emotions. "…T-Thank you for your feelings…I'm glad…" By now he was shaking and sweating so nervously that she had noticed and started laughing at him.

She cupped his reddened pouting face with both hands. "I swear I'll come back soon. Please wait for me."

Before he could say anything, she quickly kissed him one last time and hurried out the door. Ayumu stared at the door, still in much shock over what had happened – not just now but also the night prior. Eventually he collapsed onto his bed, covering his face with his arm.

Meanwhile, Hiyono stood out in hallway for a moment, her heart beating wildly. "It's like something heavy has been removed off my chest…" she sighed, feeling able to breathe again.

"Ah-hem!"

The young woman jumped and turned around to see Narumi Kiyotaka leaning against the opposite wall. "Aah! W-What do you want?"

"I just hope you know what you're doing with my brother. It's not kind to play with a dying man's feelings. Let's not forget you're a con-artist and you've been conning him since the beginning. So I know you are exceptional at lying to my brother."

She pointed her finger in between his eyes. "There's a difference between lies and not telling him everything."

He caught her finger in his hand and brought it down, "But you lied about coming back soon, didn't you?"

"I meant every word." she replied, pulling away immediately. "I won't abandon him like last time. I will be back as soon as I can. That I promise."

"If you leave now, you know you might not ever see him again. Are you willing to take the risk?"

"Ah, maybe you should concentrate on your own problems, Kiyotaka-san. Haven't you realized the reason Oneesan has been cold towards you?"

He blinked his eyes, looking quite surprised. "Do you know?"

She gave him a mischievous smile. "Of course I do. They don't call me the Rumors Girl for nothing." Again she pointed at him, and went into lecture mode. "Kiyotaka-san! It's time you stop meddling with your brother and fix your own life. Seriously, are you going to just give up Oneesan without a fight?"

He sighed, dropping his shoulders in defeat. "I only trust that you will do the same with Ayumu. He needs you."

Hiyono's expression softened. "I know. And that's why I must go now, so that I can back quickly. Please continue to look after him until I return."

Kiyotaka watched her walk towards the elevator, the sounds of her heels echoing through the hallway. _This girl… she better know what she's doing and come back soon. Time is running out…_

The following evening, the Narumi family was having dinner together in the hospital cafeteria. Ayumu was in a wheelchair, dressed casually in a shirt and sweats. He stared at his brother and his sister-in-law, who were very quiet. "What's going on?"

"Curry rice…" Madoka sniffled.

"Sorry!" Kiyotaka laughed, scratching the back of his head, "I didn't have time to go to the supermarket when you asked me to drive to Shizuoka to pick those packages from your mom. When I got back I was so tired I had to take a nap."

"Mou!" she pouted, but shoving a spoonful into her mouth nonetheless. "What about you, Ayumu? You've hardly touched your meal."

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just not really hungry tonight."

"That's because you want something else." Kiyotaka said idly, playing a little bit with his spoon.

Ayumu's eyes narrowed. "Aniki, shut up!"

"What? I'm just saying my cooking probably doesn't satisfy you."

"I said SHUT UP!"

Madoka punched them both on the head and they stopped instantly. "I don't know what you two are fighting about now, but it's annoying me."

Rubbing his sore head, Kiyotaka noted, "For your information, our little Ayumu had sex with that rumors girl the other night."

She dropped her utensils with a loud clank. "EEEEEHH? What's this? What's this?" She grabbed Ayumu by the collar and shook him. "Ne, details! Tell me now!"

"Aniki!" Ayumu growled, looking ready to pounce at his brother. First, he quickly pried his sister-in-law off. "Neesan! Get a hold of yourself!"

"Nee nee Ayumu!" she cried anxiously, "Did you at least tell her you loved her?"

His face turned a shade of red. "S-Shut up, Neesan! I don't want to talk about it!" His eyes met up with Kiyotaka who was grinning. "What?"

"Nothing…just you're so easy to figure out, Little brother."

"Whatever. I'm outta here."

He pushed away from the table and wheeled out of the door. "Ayumu!" Madoka stood to go after him, but her husband caught her hand. "Kiyotaka-san?"

"It's best to let him go, Madoka. He needs some time alone to think about this seriously."

"You shouldn't tease him so. He's going through so much and you're always giving him a hard time..."

He just wiped his chin with a napkin. "Are you going to scold me or do you want me to tell you the details?"

So as they finished the curry dinner, he told his wife what he knew about the situation. She slowly took in the information and afterwards strangely felt a need to drink beer, so they took a walk to the vending machines.

"I see, so Ayumu really cares about that girl but she left again and we don't know when she's coming back…" Madoka let out a sigh as he held out a can of Kirin Ichiban, still in disbelief that beer was actually sold in a vending machine in a hospital. "And what's with this job that she has. Surely you know about it."

"I've some idea, but I'm still on the outside." he replied, the two of them walking along the empty hallway, "But it seems that it's an organization not to mess with. I don't want to get my hands dirty now that I have freedom…"

"Still, as long as she's with them, she can't be with Ayumu. Surely, something can be done?"

Kiyotaka took one look at his wife's earnest face and decided on his next course of action. _Because you hardly show me any interest anymore… because I don't want to lose you… Anything you ask I will make possible…_

The next morning, it was dark and raining. Despite getting wet, Kiyotaka stood outside their apartment, mobile phone at hand. "Could I speak to Mr. Rutherford? Tell him it's an old friend."

Eyes Rutherford sat at the window of his music studio, the city lights reflecting off his rectangle-framed glasses. It was raining again and he was thinking about the one who was dear to him.

_Two years later and still this feeling didn't go away._

There was a subtle knock on the door and the voice of his receptionist behind it. "Rutherford-san, there's a call on line one from a Narumi Kiyotaka."

Eyes stood at the mention of that name. Slipping his hands into the pockets of his leather black pants, he walked across the room, towards the phone on the desk with the blinking green light.

"Yes, this is Rutherford." he said into the receiver.

"Long time no see, Eyes" said the voice on the other side, "Sorry to be blunt about this, but I have a favor to ask…"

_Maybe, I thought, this was the chance I'd been waiting for. The moment of redemption; it was approaching me. Surely as the raining would eventually stop falling…_

**End of Chapter 3**


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter revolves around the remaining Blade Children in Japan (at least the main ones in the series). Also mentioned is Kirie, one of the "Watchers". She is only in the manga, not in the anime. Her role was more like Eyes' caretaker while he was injured and also Ayumu's source of information for the origins of the Blade Children, as well as Kiyotaka's plan. She is the same type of person as Madoka cool on the outside but cute inside. She'll enter the story next chapter. Enjoy o _LILY10484

**Sprial Suiri no Kizuna**

**All That You Can't Get Over**

**Chapter 4**

Somewhere across town in the district of Meguro, the phone started ringing in a two bedroom flat. Asazuki Kousuke woke from his slumber and fumbled his glasses on.

_Who the hell is calling at this time of day? _

He yawned and reached for the phone. "Yeah? This is Asazuki!" But when the caller responded, he was so surprised that he almost dropped the receiver. "Rutherford?" he gasped, shuffling the receiver as if it was on fire. "Oy! Is that you?"

Eye's calm voice spoke to his ear. "Kousuke, I'm coming over tonight."

"Eh? Why?"

"Narumi Kiyotaka has given us a task to do for him. We'd like to discuss it in detail, if you're not busy today."

"No, it's my day off, so…. its fine." he uttered, scratching his head and listening to Eyes arrange what time they'd meet.

_Why all of a sudden? Rutherford hadn't contacted us for already half a year… And now Kiyotaka is also in on this. And I thought life was going to be normal from here on._

As soon as he hung up the phone, his roommate popped her head into the room. "Kousuke, you bum! Get up!"

"I've been awake…" he sighed turning to see that she was wearing nothing but towel. She'd just had a shower and her short brown hair was dripping over her shoulders. He quickly averted his eyes away. "Put some clothes on, will you Ryoko! You'll catch a cold!" he grumbled, tossing her a jumper and runners.

"Oh thanks," Ryoko said, "Well, what are you just sitting around for? You've got to hurry and go to class!"

"It's Saturday!" he snapped at her, but he could tell she wasn't listening. She was pacing around the room; pulling on the clothes he had given her, occasionally pausing to dry her hair. "Where are you going anyway?"

"Me?" she said, tossing her damp towel onto a chair, "Oh, well I'm going to the store before going to the gym for some workshops. Want to come along?"

"Nah, I think I'm going to sleep in." he lied, eying the clock. _Kiyotaka is coming over around 6. Rutherford asked me to meet him at Shibuya station around 4ish… I wonder why… _

"Well, I'm going now! See you!"

"Ah yeah, see ya."

He looked around the flat that he'd shared with Ryoko for this past year and a half. It was a little untidy but it was home nonetheless. There were some of her training clothes on the sofa and the floor but he couldn't get her to put them away properly. Even though he'd put it away himself somehow it'd end up right back there. He had become somewhat like a housekeeper, juggling school and also two part-time jobs.

_Oh how I value my Saturdays - my only day off in the week. But then this had to come up. Why all of a sudden…?_

He spent his day mostly resting and cleaning up the apartment. Finally he left and took the Yamanote line to Shibuya, arriving just after four. Pushing past the crowds in soggy jeans and raincoat, he saw his old comrade waiting by the entrance. "Hey Rutherford!"

The pale handsome man lifted his hand to wave. His blue eyes showed he hadn't much sleep, despite the fact that his tour had ended 2 weeks ago and he was now vacationing in Japan. "Hey," he said with little enthusiasm, but a slight smile hinted on his face as he watched Kousuke run up to him. "You made it okay."

"Yeah, err, just why did you ask me to come meet you here anyway?"

"Oh, because I didn't know the way and I didn't feel like getting a taxi."

"But you've been to my place before."

"Yes, but I forgot how to get there. And also…" An unnatural sound cut Eyes off and he lifted his hands to his stomach. "I'm a bit hungry."

"Relax, there's a pretty good restaurant on the next street. Follow me."

As they walked with umbrellas in hand, Kousuke realized that this was the moment to ask what had been on his mind for a long time. "Na, Rutherford…"

"What is it?"

"There's something I've been wondering about… it's just, well, why didn't you come see us during Christmas? I heard you were in town, I mean you were doing that Christmas performance - it was all over the news. We sent you messages, but you didn't reply to any… You and Rio are so far away all the time. I understand Rio, because her family lives in America, but you..." Kousuke trailed off turned to look over his shoulder. "Oy, are you listening?"

Eyes had been listening, but with a blank face as he stared past his friend, towards the busy street. Finally after letting all these words soak in, he spoke. "This year… I thought maybe we should keep a distance from each other."

"Why…? It's about Kanone, isn't it?"

"…Not really." he said quietly, but he had said it with much hesitation that it was hardly believable. "There's more to it… it's complicated."

"Tell me," Kousuke took a step forward, the look in his eyes very serious. "We've always helped each other in the past, so why all of a sudden are you hiding from me – I-I mean, everyone?"

Eyes did a good job of ignoring the stuttering last bit and not to mention Kousuke's reddened face, and continued gazing into the street. "Where's this restaurant? I'm hungry."

Kousuke let out a sigh and led the way. He dared not to bring up the subject again. So, after a quiet lunch together, the two returned to his apartment in Meguro. Kousuke set up their umbrellas outside to dry, after opening the door to let Eyes in first. "Rutherford, make your self comfortable. It's a little dirty. Sorry."

"No problem. Could I use your bathroom?" Eyes asked, slipping out of his soaked black boots and going right in.

"Go for it." Kousuke replied, reaching for the phone. "I'll call up Kiyotaka and make sure he knows where he's going _since he's never been here before_."

While he was calling, Ryoko arrived. She threw her sports bag onto the sofa and impatiently waited for him to get off the phone. "Ne Kousuke, I ran into my friends at the gym. They're having a compa on Friday; why don't you come?"

He let out a groan. "Look, we've been over this! I'm not going to any group blind date! And I don't think you should for that matter!"

"What's that supposed to mean! It's just for fun! You just want you to find someone and be happy!"

"I thought we went over this many times: I'm NOT your brother! Start looking at me as a man! I mean isn't that why we moved in together in the first place?"

Ryoko made a face. "Eww! There's no way we're sleeping together!"

"Not yet, anyhow." he replied under his breath, "No thanks to your stubbornness."

"What! Do you want me to beat you up like the other times? Try something and you'll see what death is like!"

"Whatever! You know you so want me!"

Their argument would've continued on until they heard the toilet flush. Eyes walked out of the bathroom, looking refreshed. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Ryoko jumped. "R-R-R-Rutherford!" she stammered while frantically trying to hide her blushing face. "What are you doing here?"

"We're doing a favor for Narumi Kiyotaka." he said, going to sit down at the table, "He must be on his way by now."

"Good, I want to know what's going on too." she replied, looking like she had calmed down, "In the meantime, Kousuke, why don't you go into the kitchen and fix up something for our guests?"

"Why?" Kousuke retorted, "Isn't that _your_ job?" Her only response was a good punch to his head and he instantly jumped dup on his feet, clutching his sore head in his hands. "Okay, okay, I'll cook up something. Sheesh!"

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang. Kousuke was up so he answered the door. "Oh, it's you, Kiyotaka! Come on in!"

Narumi Kiyotaka entered the room with look of a little boy who had ended a toy store; everything in sight caught his curiosity and he began to examine things with great care. "What a charming place," he said, looking at a display of framed photographs on the bookshelf. "How long have you been living here?"

"Me and Ryoko been here couple of years now," Kousuke replied, setting out some tea and gesturing the man to sit down, "Can I take your raincoat?"

"Yes, thanks," he said with a bright smile, as he took off the drenched coat and handed it to the spiky-haired boy before settling himself next to Ryoko, "Good to see you again. You all look well. How's university life going for you? I heard you got a scholarship from the athletics department…"

Before Ryoko could speak, Eyes cut her off. "Narumi Kiyotaka. Let's skip on to business. What exactly do you want us to do?"

"Oh all right…" Kiyotaka uttered, looking like he head been blown off track for a moment. He searched his laptop back for a second and pulled out a photograph. "You remember Ayumu's little helper, Yuizaki Hiyono, right? Well, she's up and disappeared again. I was wondering if you could check her apartment; any clues as to what she's doing, or where's she's gone."

Ryoko lifted an eyebrow. "Even though Hiyono's a friend of ours and we should be worried about her disappearance, shouldn't this be police work? I mean, since she's a missing person and all. Her family ought to have detectives looking for her…"

"She hasn't any family." Kiyotaka replied, eying a small music box that been sitting on a shelf by the television, "As far I'm concerned, no one would notice she was missing except you and I, and of course Ayumu – whom I doubt is taking this well."

Kousuke placed a tray of appetizers in the middle of the table. "Well I suppose if this is for Otouto, it must be done. We own the guy our lives."

Eyes shrugged his shoulders with an admitted silent way of saying: _That's true_. _We'll do it. _ And just like that they took the job, no further questions ask.

"Excellent!" Kiyotaka chimed, grinning over his tea, "We'll go over to her apartment tonight and gather up as much information as we can about her. I'll take you all there."

Only Ryoko didn't seem satisfied with the decision. "Are you all crazy? Do you want to get arrested for breaking and entry?"

Kousuke patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We'll go. You stay here."

"But! Fine, but when you get here you better tell me everything okay? Be careful! Don't do anything stupid!"

"Oy! Quit embarrassing me!" he grumbled, turning pink as Kiyotaka snickered and Eyes looked the other way. "Anyway, the sooner we go the better!"

After having some tea and snacks, the three guys took a taxi to Ebisu, the same area as Ayumu's hospital. Stopping in front of a large mansion, Kiyotaka paid the cab driver while the boys stepped out. "This is the place? Nice part of town." Kousuke observed, "I wonder what she does for a living."

Just then they heard the theme from _Star Wars_. Kiyotaka took his cell phone out of his back pocket and squinted at the screen. "Oh, it's a text from Kirie."

Kousuke watched him check the message. _That lady Kirie who was a WATCHER… she was with Eyes half-way through his tour in Asia but came back in a hurry… From what I hear she came back for Kiyotaka… something about the two of them's fishy…_ He looked to Eyes who was moving ahead into the lobby of the apartment. _He must've noticed too._

Kiyotaka had sent off a reply and was shoving his cell phone back into his pocket. "Sorry, boys, but I gotta run. You'll be okay, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Kousuke uttered as Kiyotaka took off in the taxi without another word and while Eyes entered an elevator. "Hey! Wait! Hold the door!" he cried, racing into the lobby.

Her room was on the 5th floor. They walked up to the door with the numbed 5C, just as Kiyotaka had instructed them. Eyes was examining the area when Kousuke started to pick the look.

"That's not going to work," Eyes mumbled glancing down at him, "Surely there's some kind of sophisticated—" Just then there was click. Kousuke stood up and turned the knob. It opened. Eyes sighed. "Nevermind that theory."

"I'll check her message." Kousuke said, moving towards her phone. He paused to glance at the desk across the room. "Hey, a computer - wasn't she like a Hack Queen? I think there'd be valuable information in there."

"I'll take the hard drive out and we can look at it back at your place." Eyes said, taking out a bag of tools. He chose a screwdriver and knelt by the desk. Then, something caught his attention. He moved over and shuffled some powdery substance off the floor onto a piece of paper. "Cigarette ash… It's like someone's been here."

"Unless the pigtails-girl smokes," Kousuke chuckled for a moment, before having a glimpse around the room. "Then again, looking around there's a security system but it seems like someone had turned it off."

"I thought it was strange that we easily walked in…" Eyes sighed while working quickly at taking the motherboard apart.

"Maybe it was someone like us, who wanted to know something. She's an interesting one, that girl. Not to mention mysterious. I can understand why Otouto likes her…"

"At any rate, let's search the room for anything else we can use."

After a thorough investigation of the room, they left the apartment as they had found it. For a moment they stood outside, holding a box full of notebooks and her computer hard drive that they had taken with them.

"We'll take them all back when we're done." Kousuke noted, "But are you coming over to look at it with us?"

"You and Ryoko can go over this stuff. I'll track down the people on her answering machine and find out why there were over 70 messages. She's a popular girl, huh?"

"So wait. You're not going to completely work together with us on this?"

Eyes put his hands into the pockets of her long coat and gazed up at the night sky. It had long stopped raining by there was now a soft breeze engulfing them. "Before you ask me 'why' once more, I'll tell you this: I'm better off working alone. I don't want to get involved with anyone if it can be avoided. So don't ask me again."

Kousuke froze completely. He couldn't speak or do anything after hearing him out. He simply watched Eyes hail a taxi and hop in, leaving him behind. Only after watching the black cab disappear did snap out of his trance. And then, without thinking he cursed and punched the wall, only to retract clutching his bruised knuckle.

_You idiot… Don't you care about I want?_

He stared up at the mansion, thinking about his own apartment. It was almost ten o'clock. Surely Ryoko was waiting for him, sitting at the table with too glasses of cold barley tea.

_All the things that were expected of a normal life… and yet… somehow… it didn't seem like enough. Rutherford, I'm going to find out what happened… it can't be avoided._

**End of Chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5

Finally picks this up again. Thanks for your emails. Happy Holidays! Lily 12/25/2006

**SPIRAL Suiri no Kizuna**

**All That You Can't Get Over**

Chapter 5

Tsuchiya Kirie watched the sunrise from the window of her high rise apartment. She rubbed her eyes, aching from not the glare off the glass, but from the lack of sleep. Tokyo was at her feet and coming alive and here she was ready to pass out. Not too long ago, she'd taken a break from this busy kind of life and was enjoying touring the world with musician Eyes Rutherford, but that all ended suddenly. And here she was, back in the old job that consumed her life, and by the amount of cigarettes she inhaled a day, her health as well.

"It's finally finished…" she yawned, putting out her last cigarette into the glass ashtray next to one of the computers. "I can't believe someone actually tried to hack into our systems and got to stage three! And then we had to redo all of the security checks! Good work, Kiyotaka!"

A disheveled but still-stunning Narumi Kiyotaka put his head down onto the table and covered his face with his arms. "I'm exhausted. Let me rest just for a little bit…"

"I know you're tired, but you'd better get home. It's already morning."

He caught her hand and turned it over so he could look at her watch. "Oh, you're right. Kirie, could you give me a lift home?"

"You know I can't do that."

"Why not?"

Kirie rolled eyes. _You're supposed to be the greatest detective in the world and you don't know…_

Meanwhile, three of the BLADE CHILDREN were having a conference meeting on speaker phone. "We tried analyzing the mother board and it seems the whole thing's been corrupted. It's beyond our expertise." Ryoko sighed, "Did you find anything out, Rutherford?

"Not really…" Eyes replied, "All of them were blank… as though someone called, heard the taped message and just hung up. I wonder if they were signal for her to call someone or… meet someone… somewhere…"

"Could you hear any background noise?"

"No… Anyway, how about the notebooks?"

She was about to speak, but Kousuke cut in, "So we went through all of the notebooks, but there wasn't anything useful in them."

"I see… there must be other clues we've overlooked. I'm going to look over her apartment one more time. Contact Rio, she might be able to help you with the computer, even though she's in the States."

"Well, I've got to go work. You guys handle this. I need to be out of here in ten minutes." Kousuke then stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door.

"What's his problem?" sighed his roommate.

"I don't know," said Eyes, "let's meet again later and talk about our findings."

After a confirmation, Ryoko hung up the phone. She then walked over to the bathroom. "Kousuke, what's going on!" she said, barging into the room. He was standing over the sink, his arms crossed. "Hey, why didn't you tell Rutherford about the notebooks!"

"Because he's lying!"

"What! You're crazy!"

Kousuke pushed up his glasses and walked over to the speaker phone, Ryoko following him. "I could tell in his voice, he wasn't telling us everything. He stammered over three times. He must've found something on the tape and is going to investigate it himself."

"What are you talking about?! Rutherford is working together with us on this!"

"Is he?" He sat down and picked up one of the notebooks. "And these… they weren't written by the girl at all. They're diaries of an Italian professor… but who is he? And I wonder why they were there…"

Ryoko swatted him on the head with another notebook. "Baka! That's why we have to tell Rutherford so we can figure these things out –together-! You stupid boys are always doing things the hard way! I'm getting tired of this crap!" She then stormed into her room and slammed the door.

Kousuke rubbed his sore and sighed. "What's her problem?" He then looked at the notebooks in his hand.

_These diaries… it was like they were planted there for someone else to read… Perhaps that person had come and gone. Someone else was there in that apartment before after all…I'm going to get to the bottom of this, with or without you, Rutherford!_

"Okay, we're here." Kirie shut off the engine and looked to her side. Kiyotaka was fast asleep. "Hey, wake up." She removed his seatbelt and nudged him twice but he wouldn't budge. "Now isn't the time for this. Come on, get up!"

Just then, there was a knock on the driver side window. She turned around and saw one fuming face. "Hi there, Tsuchiya…and what a surprise- my husband!"

"M-Madoka-san…" Kirie rolled down the window a smidgen. "Good morning! Sorry, we had a lot of work to do last night."

"I bet you did." Madoka said, glaring into the glass as Kirie frantically locked the door and reached for a new pack of cigarettes. "You know it's funny; he never bothers to tell me things, things like when he has some overnight projects with you."

Kirie forced a laugh. "Well, that's Narumi Kiyotaka. He tends to just do stuff on his own without saying anything. I mean, half the time he doesn't even tell me what's going on…" Madoka's seething seemed to intensify so Kirie quickly changed gears. "But you're absolutely right! He should tell you things like where he is! He's such a selfish man!"

Kiyotaka's eyes suddenly flickered open. "Huh? Where am I?" He looked over at the two tense-faced women. "Oh, Madoka, Kirie, what's going on?"

Kirie glared at him. _For a so-called immortal genius, he can be such a ditz sometimes…surely he knows with this behavior and all the rumors flying around, one of these days his wife is going to either leave him or send me to the bottom of Tokyo Bay…_

She watched as Madoka went over to the other side of the car, opened the door, and yanked Kiyotaka out by his arm. "Come on, get out so she can go already."

Now that her chance had been granted, Kirie took off. The Narumi couple watched her car speed out of the parking garage and could hear her engine revving from blocks away.

When the smoke finally cleared, Madoka turned to her sleepy husband.

"Why didn't you tell me where you were? I waited up all night for you."

"Oh, sorry, I kind of lost track of time. You know how busy I can get, trying to keep this top secret operation going and it's not easy with board members who don't get along and someone disappearing every now then... and, Madoka…?" She had been staring off into space until he moved in her view. "Madoka? What is it?"

She snapped out it suddenly, and then grabbed his cell phone out of his breast pocket and shoved it in his stomach. "Next time, call! You have a cell phone, you know!" While he gagged and recovered she took out her keys and stomped towards their car.

"Where are you going, Madoka??"

"To the hospital! To see your brother!"

The breeze never felt so good before. Ayumu sat on the roof of the hospital up against the fence. He'd wheeled out there on his own so that he could think. He knew his brother and sister-in-law were coming for a morning visit and he wasn't in the mood to see either one of them, or anyone for that matter.

The other night, he dreamt about Hiyono. She was sitting at her desk in the old journalist club at their high school. Even though she was there in pigtails and uniform, he knew now that she had been acting. In reality she wasn't the bubbly school girl whom at times annoyed him at end, but someone who stayed by his side giving him support.

_She knew my type, she knew everything about me… yet she chose a persona she knew I couldn't stand – no, Aniki chose it. Aniki created the entire scenario. Aniki knew I would still fall for her… Is that why he chose her? _

Just then the Hiyono before him started to disappear. When he reached out to her, he woke suddenly alone in his room.

_What is that organization of hers … and if she leaves them, will they hunt her down and kill her? _

"Thought you'd be up here." said a voice behind him. He turned his head and saw his sister-in-law holding a bag of snacks from the convenience store. "Ayumu, are you hungry?"

"Not really."

"Are you thinking about Hiyono-chan?" she said, smiling as his face immediately showed sighs of blushing, "Don't worry. I'm sure she's okay."

"If only I could get out of this hospital, but it's no use. I feel like I can't do anything now but wait, like she said, but I really can't stand it…" He then shook those thoughts of helplessness out of his head and started wheeling towards her, "Say, where's Aniki?"

"Oh, _him_." She sighed and dropped her shoulders, "I got angry at him again and left him at home. Honestly, I'm getting sick and tired of all the secrets your brother has. I'm actually considering leaving him."

"Neesan..."

"Ayumu, don't worry. Even if we split, I'll still visit you, and if you like when you can leave the hospital we go back to living together. I mean, you're my precious younger brother."

"It's not just that, though I'm touched by you said, Neesan." he replied, taking her hand, "But I was wondering if you've talked to Aniki about this. I mean he's been through a lot to get back to you and also to stay with you has been always a danger. Don't you think he deserves to know your feelings?"

There was a moment where the two of them just looked at each other. Ayumu suddenly covered his face. "I can't believe I was defending him."

"Yeah, I know. It was kind of weird…" Madoka laughed, "But it shows that you actually care for your brother."

"Whatever. I hate that guy." he grumbled, wheeling away

Meanwhile, Kirie pulled into the garage and turned off her engine, sighing with relief. "That's too much excitement for one day. I'm finally home…" She jumped to hear tapping on her window. "Ruza-kun!"

Eyes stood outside her car in a black trench coat. She came out and stopped in front of him. "Long time no see, Kirie…"

"What are you doing here, Ruza-kun?"

"I'm in town for a bit. Taking a break. The tour's finished you know."

She then let out an awkward laugh. "You're not going to ask me back, are you? I told you, it's not going to work… besides, you're not over him, right?"

Eyes rubbed his forehead. "Let's not talk about this here."

"You're right. Sorry."

The two of them went up to her apartment where she made some coffee and he gazed out the large windows at the city below. "So you don't want another go with me?" Kirie asked as she served him his black coffee.

He watched as she added cream to her own cup. "It wasn't that bad, you and me. I'm sorry I couldn't make it work."

"I told you, I'm over it. People just realize things." she replied, "Anyway, what brings you here? Eyes Rutherford doesn't just show up at places without an agenda."

He took a couple of sips before finally speaking. "What's your connection with Yuizaki Hiyono?"

"Ah, _Rumors Girl_… we worked together back then. Kiyotaka told me about her and had us collaborate during the whole hostage scenario. You remember that?"

"Yes… she was in on it?"

"Well, who told her what the police were doing and where you-know-who was? We were exchanging information over the phone, although we didn't actually meet face to face until the hospital. Even then, I didn't realize it was her right away…"

"Do you still keep contact with her?"

"Sometimes…"

He got up and paced around the room. He then held up her ashtray. "I see you picked up smoking again. Thought I finally got you to quit…" He picked up some of the ash and examined it in his fingertips. "…You were on her answering machine, twice. I could recognize your voice anywhere. And you were in her apartment, weren't you?"

"Yes…um, what's with all the questions, Ruza-kun? I feel like I'm being interrogated."

"Yuizaki Hiyono has disappeared. We need to find out where she's gone. You were the last person to see her in Japan. Tell me what you know."

She crossed her arms. "After I took her to the train station, she asked me to crash her computer and burn anything she left behind - except for the notebooks."

"Notebooks? What about the notebooks?"

"She said they were too important to throw, that surely someone will find them and keep them. I looked at them myself, and even though they seemed interesting I didn't think there was any significance."

"What were they about?"

Kirie reached for her ashtray and kept Eyes sitting on the edge of his seat as she lit up and thought about it. "I honestly don't remember."

"What!" he blurted out. "Don't play around. This is important."

"I know that, but I don't remember. After I read those notebooks, the last thing I could remember about that day was sitting up in my room. I didn't remember anything else until you mentioned _Yuizaki Hiyono_ and started asking me these questions."

"Like a trigger… Those notebooks must have significance. And if so, why did she leave them behind?"

"That girl's a mystery. I don't even know her real name…" She went over to pick up his coffee cup, but stopped suddenly. "By the way, Ruza-kun, I don't recall there ever being an answering machine. I had always called her cell phone, which has since been discontinued."

Eyes glared out the window, the wheels in his head turning. _Why leave behind all of these clues…?_

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted. Wet and menthol-flavored, the kiss cut through his consciousness like a dull knife. It was so easy, because his loneliness had been so strong. And yet this time, instead of being pulled in he regained control and pushed away.

"Kirie, you know we shouldn't…"

She simply smiled. "Sorry, but old habits die hard. You have to admit – we were good together, Ruza-kun."

He got up to his feet and turned to the door. "I've got to go…" the door closed with a quiet little slam. Kirie lit up another cigarette and began watching the clouds outside her window.

_You know he wouldn't want to see you this way…  
_

Nobody spoke in the hospital ward as Ayumu and Madoka were watching the evening news. Nothing interesting was on, but the two had exhausted themselves with so much serious conversation and turned into couch potatoes for the last hour and a half. Just then they heard a ring tone. Both whipped out their cell phones at once.

"It's mine." Ayumu said, going to hit the call button. "Hello, this Narumi."

There was a pause. He could hear some people in the background. Finally, the caller spoke. "Ayumu, it's me…"

His eyes lit up. "Hiyono!"

His sister dropped whatever she was doing and went to sit next to him on the bed, leaning her ear against the receiver. "Tell her that you love her and you're going to get married and have kids and move into the country! Tell her now or it'll be too late! That'll get her to come home!"

"Neesan, get off!" he cried, trying to cover the phone and push her away, "Can I have some privacy!"

All the while there was laughter on the line. "Tell Oneesan she has the right idea. If Narumi-san said he was going to marry me, I'd fly home in a minute!"

"Don't joke around!" he cried with his face all red, "What are you calling me for anyway? You're working right? This is dangerous!"

"Of course it is!" Then, all cheerfulness faded from her voice, " … I just wanted to hear your voice one more time. I need it to have strength to do something. To tell you the truth, for the first time I'm scared."

"Hiyono?"

"You've changed me. I don't know if I could do this. Everything is there, Ayumu. Come fi --"

Voices in the background had been getting louder, and suddenly the connection was cut. He stopped and listened to the endless tone. "Hiyono? Hiyono!"

"What happened?" Madoka said, coming over and taking the phone. She tried redialing the number but there was a message saying it didn't exist. "Ayumu…"

Her younger brother was lost in thought, hands clenching together and his forehead leaning against them.

_Think, Ayumu, think! Try to remember everything... Just now, you heard her plea for help. She'd made preparations. Now she's leaving it to you...It's on... We've got to break her out of this with every bit of power I have left._

**End of Chapter 5**

Next chapter coming up by New Years. Enter Rio and finally some collaboration.


	6. Chapter 6

**SPIRAL Suri no Kizuna**

**  
All That You Can't Get Over**

**Chapter 6**

_Think, Ayumu!_

The more he thought about it, the more things were getting confusing. She'd left days ago somewhere to handle one of her special jobs, promising to return soon. Now she was saying she'd left clues on how to find her. The only thing that came to mind now was what kind of job was she doing that would make her want to run.

_Something that will prolong our separation? Something that will compromise our relationship? Is that why she slept with me? Was it really our last chance to be together? Did she mean any of those words…_

Madoka stood over her brother looking worried. "Ayumu, that call… is Hiyono-chan okay? I mean, is she in danger?"

He leaned his chin against his hand. "She's a tough girl. She can take care of herself." he said idly, "That girl doesn't cry or anything. She's really manly."

"That's not a very nice thing to say about the person you're in love with."

"I never said I was. And the more I think about it, it seemed like it was an act to me. I mean, she'd always manipulated me in the past and this time she must've conjured up some fake tears to get me to do what I did…"

Madoka sighed, "Honestly, you're a mean boy. I think she really cares about you."

"In her own twisted way. She's only caused me trouble since the day we met. And then she makes me wait."

"Now you're the one who's suddenly sounding feminine. Won't you please toughen up? We can't do all the work you know."

Ayumu felt caught off guard for a moment and opened his mouth but couldn't argue back. He glared out the window, grumbling to himself. _What's that supposed to mean??_

Just then the door flew open. "There's my family!" Kiyotaka stood in the doorway with a large bento box and a bouquet of flowers, which he handed to Madoka. "These are for you."

She simply grabbed the bouquet and started hitting him with it. "Do you think this will make things better!?" She tossed it to the side and stormed out of the room. The brothers watched on, looking stunned.

"…I better go after her."

"Yeah, you should, Aniki."

Ayumu watched his brother put down the bento while staring at the poor bouquet lying destitute on the floor. He then dashed out the door, closing it behind him. _Toughen up and go after her. Is that the way to go? What if it's all in vain? What if it's not the way I want it to turn out? What if, what if…?_

At that exact moment, Eyes Rutherford switched on his flashlight. Yuizaki Hiyono's apartment was just as he'd left it, only now it felt colder since no one had been living there for a while now. The table which they found the computer had collected dust and he could see where the stack of notebooks was, as though they had been waiting there for someone.

Just then, a light flashed in his eyes. "Rutherford, I thought you'd been here." Kousuke stood before him, still wearing his convenient store uniform (black button down shirt with neon blue stripes on the side). 

Eyes couldn't help but glare at him. "You lied to me. There was something in those notebooks, wasn't there?"

Kousuke shrugged. "There might be something. It's just you lied first so it was only fair. You found something on those tapes, didn't you? Why didn't you tell us? We're working together!"

Eyes crossed his arms, his face very tense. "Because… I found out that Kirie was involved."

Kousuke's face tinted red. "Oh… you and Kirie, huh?"

"We broke up six months ago, but I didn't feel like seeing her for a long while. The whole situation was… bad." He stopped short, his contorted face wanting rest. Kousuke gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder and finally he let it go with a long exhale of breath.

"Anyways?"

"Anyways, Kirie put that virus on the computer and broke in here before, as a favor to Yuizaki Hiyono. Though, I still think that all of this was planted here for someone else… What did you learn?"

"Those notebooks definitely are clues to what Jouchan is up to and I'm not sure why they were just here for someone to read if they're so top secret. Generally, they're about… umm… ah…" Kousuke paused, rubbing his temples. "That's weird. My mind's a blank. I just read 'em this morning."

"Kirie said the same thing. There are some kind of subliminal messages written those books and a trigger that makes you forget it. I'm sure if we investigate further we can figure out just where she is and what she's doing. Better yet if Rio can fix that computer and access the files…"

"You know, Rutherford, it really does seem easy after all. It's like Jouchan wanted someone to find all this stuff."

"The reason for that," Eyes sighed taking on last look around the room, "is what I'm most worried about. What is she planning to do if she wants to be caught?"

At her apartment, Ryoko waved to her old comrade once the connection had been made and her face appeared on the television screen. "How are you Rio? How's America?"

"It's great! You should come down with a visit! I miss you all!" Though she was still short in height, she'd grown a bit over the span of 2 years and her hair – though still in high pigtails – was much longer. She was happy to see Ryoko, but Rio couldn't help but frown. "Where's Eyes-kun?"

"Oh, he and Kousuke aren't here."

"Booo, how disappointing! I guess we can get started on cleaning up this computer. I'm not particularly good at it. I actually learned a bit from Hiyono-san. She gave me an excellent program that does such in these cases."

"How fitting!" Ryoko laughed, "This is Hiyono's computer. It's almost as though this was all planned out."

As they worked, the two girls talked about normal things girls talked about. Rio was very curious about Ryoko and Kousuke's living situation, but Ryoko insisted that they were nothing more than close friends.

"Besides Kousuke is always joking around. I can't take him seriously."

"But didn't he give up killing for you? You know he feels strongly for you. You should give him a chance."

"What about you, Rio? Did you tell Rutherford yet that you liked him?"

Rio let out a sigh. "Actually I heard about him and Kirie-san. I thought about it for a while and decided to move on."

"Wow, you're really growing up!"

"Of course I have to! I'll be going to University next year!" she said, sticking out her tongue, "But it was hard… giving up on someone you loved."

Meanwhile, Kousuke sat on the train, thinking about his recent parting with Eyes outside the apartment mansion. He suddenly covered his face and groaned. _I'm an idiot…_

"So no more secrets. We're working together, right?" he had said. Eyes shuffled his feet and stared off into space. He gave the pale young man a good wallop on the back. "Come on! We're both BLADE CHILDREN!"

Eyes pushed away. "That's the problem. We're BLADE CHILDREN. Our lives are constantly in danger and extremely limited. What's the point of…interacting? Look at Narumi Ayumu. He was our hope to having normal and free lives. Yet, even though he's lasted this long, it's only a matter of time before he ends up like Mizuhiro, and…"

Kousuke cut him off. "This is still about Kanone."

"I'm not saying you have to do the same as me. Truthfully I thought you could take care of everyone in my place."

"Didn't Kanone leave that to you!"

Eyes looked up as his fuming comrade approached him with fists clenched. He stood awaiting a hit, but at the last moment Kousuke pulled him into his arms. The two of them stood there in the lamplight, hugging. He suddenly pushed away.

"S-S-Sorry!!" he gasped, waving his hands, "I don't know what came over me…!"

Eyes said nothing. He just turned and walked away. Kousuke dropped his arms to his sides and watched the figure grow more distance between them.

_I know I've been obsessive lately but why did I do that…? Seriously, what's wrong with me? Why can't I just let it go?_

He unlocked the door to his apartment and took off his shoes. He paused to smell some delicious aroma coming from inside. When he got in, the table was set and there was Ryoko bringing lasagna out from the oven.

"What's going on here?" he stammered as she had him sit down at the table, "You cook?!"

"Of course I do! Anyway, I'm sorry I got angry at you before. I shouldn't have yelled at you. This is my way of apologizing."

"Thanks, it looks good." he said, watching her heap a serving on his plate. "I'm sorry too. I got a bit carried away. I didn't really think I could get this competitive with Rutherford."

"Yeah, I was surprised how serious you were. I won't doubt you for a while."

The two of them sat down and started to eat dinner, while talking about the computer. Rio had succeeded in removing the virus and they uncovered some database. "It's strange. You've got to look at it."

"Yeah, after dinner okay?"

So after dinner, they went towards the setup in the living room. Rio had long disconnected but promised to meet up with them later that night with everyone. Walking towards it, Ryoko tripped on one of the cords and found her self falling.

"Aah!!" She collided not with floor but a warm fast beating chest. She opened her eyes and found herself lying on top of Kousuke. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," he laughed, "I don't mind. He paused to see the look in her face had changed. She then reached over and took off his glasses, staring into his face more closely. "Ryoko?"

Next thing he knew, she leaned over and kissed him. It didn't take long for her to notice he wasn't kissing back. When she moved away to see what was wrong, he hid his eyes, then apologized.

"No, it's okay… I mean, I should've… it was stupid of me…" she stammered, "What was I thinking? Of course I should've known you were joking around with me. Couldn't have been serious…"

Even though she laughed about it, tears were rolling down her face. Kousuke put on his glasses and took a moment to wipe some away, but when she grasped his hand with hers, he stopped and pulled away. They both looked down at the floor and said nothing.

After an awkward moment had passed, he stood and turned towards the door. "Call up Kiyotaka. We have to meet him tonight and tell him everything we know."

She stared at his back and tearfully nodded. She then reached for the telephone. Kousuke looked over his shoulder once before stepping outside the apartment. He covered his face with his hands.

_What the hell am I doing…?_

Meanwhile, Kiyotaka caught Madoka in the long hallway before the parking garage. "Let me go!" she yelled as he held onto her wrists. "I hate you!!"

"No you don't." His voice was calm and hands firm. When he saw an opening he leaned over and kissed her. She fought him at first, but slowly she sunk into it and found herself up against the wall. "Madoka," he sputtered breathlessly in her ear, "I have to have you now."

"Shut up," she replied while pressing her body against his, "We can't do it here in a hallway, a hospital no less."

"How about the car? There are tinted windows. Or a love hotel?" He touched her cheek and smiled. "Remember that time we did it at the station, in the Chief's office."

"How can I forget? We just finished that big homicide case and you didn't want to go home, so you decided to get started on a new case."

"But you wouldn't me." he said lifting an eyebrow. "I was always so busy being Narumi Kiyotaka I didn't take notice of the people and things around me. But that night I think that was the first time I saw you, in the moonlight, so beautiful…"

She caught him off with another kiss, her hands running through his long brown hair. When he pulled away for air, she suddenly blurted out, "Let's have a baby."

He stopped. "Huh?" They stared at each other for a moment before sharing a smile and going to kiss once more. "Yeah, let's do it." He said softly, "I love you, Madoka."

And then his cell phone range. He ignored it at first, but the ring tone continued endlessly. She broke the embrace and turned away. He understood entirely.

"Hai, this is Narumi." He said, receiver in hand, "Got it. I'll be there soon." Hanging up he looked over at the back of his wife. He reached for her but stopped himself. Without another word, he took off into the parking garage.

When she made it back to the hospital ward, she went directly to her younger brother and threw her arms around him, letting the tears run freely. _That terrible man…_

Narumi Kiyotaka arrived at the hospital the following morning. Despite a lack of sleep he swiftly went to his brother's ward to see the young man sitting up in bed as though he'd been waiting. "Aniki," he uttered, glaring towards him, "Where've you been?"

In the cushion chair at his bedside, Madoka was in a deep sleep. Kiyotaka pulled the blanket up to cover her arms and paused to gaze into her peaceful face. "I'm sorry…" he whispered into her hair before planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"She was up all night. She even cried. Do you know what you are doing to her? She told me she's going to leave you, you know!"

Even though Ayumu was angry he was curious by the orange folder in his brother's hands. Kiyotaka noticed and stepped forward. "I'll share with you the results from my meeting. Let's go somewhere else to talk about Yuizaki Hiyono."

So, the two of them found their way up to the roof, Ayumu refusing to have his brother help with his wheelchair, wheeling himself with defiance. "What do you know, Aniki?" he said, while panting from exhaustion.

"First," Kiyotaka held up one finger, "What do you know about her? And I don't mean what you feel - what do you know?"

"You tell me. She took my heart and saved my life. You might've hired her to do so, but she did it so well nonetheless. And yet, all she has are secrets for me. In truth, I know nothing."

"Some secrets are best kept as secrets. Do you really want to know?" he asked once more. Ayumu gave him a slight nod. He leaned against the fence, staring into the sunrise.

"The facts are the facts. She belongs to a private company that distributes agents for special jobs. The work they do goes behind the scenes and beyond the law. Some of its unmentionable – from cover ups to murder, infiltration to influence, whatever the bidder wants."

"Sounds like a twisted genie of the lamp for people who have money to throw around. Well we do live in a capitalist world. I'm sure the demand is quite strong…"

"Yeah, actually they're quite famous underground for their efficiency, and that's why I had hired her for you. The owner of this company was a fan of mine and so he recommended her as one of his best agents. The owner is said to have raised each and every one of his agents himself. You can say he is their father and they are his children to do his will. For me she worked as a spy. In Germany, she assisted in a political cover-up. And now she's in New York, trying to botch a controversial research debut."

"How do you know she's in New York?"

I've been looking into it, little brother, with aid from the BLADE CHILDREN. Actually, your girl left us some very helpful clues, as well as access to her main computer. We already know so much, she'd have to kill us all…"

Kiyotaka then gave an orange folder to him, which he stared at without opening. "She wanted to be found out. I'm sure she's planning to leave … "

"Ayumu," His brother put his hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "She's a spy, a seductress and an assassin. How much do you still want her? How far are you willing to go to save her?"

"Whatever it takes."

As he said this, Ayumu stood up and faced his brother. The look received was of the same determination at their previous face-off far in the distant mountains. Kiyotaka knew there was no turning back now.

"We need a plan."

"Yeah. No kidding."

The two Narumi brothers stared off at the waking city, already thinking up the next move.

**End of Chapter 6**


End file.
